If I don't post a show on Robbie Burns Day then I feel like I'm probably doing something wrong. Also: hello! It's 2017 and I'm still occasionally rambling on about comic books while walking arm and arm with John Barleycorn. This episode John is rather silent but I talk about Astro City, The Anchor, Deathlok, and The Punisher MAX. It's a kind of a short episode but don't worry: the next one is going to be extra-long to make up for it. Just you wait.

I've tried to write the show notes for this episode five or six times now and it always just comes down to me trying to not talk about how it's been a while. So I figure the less said the better!

Long story short: if you want to hear your intrepid host Devin R Bruce talk about awesome independent comic books like Polly & The Pirates, Bitch Planet, The Hypernaturals, and Injection, then this is the episode for you! Also if you are interested in the fantastic comics in Showcase Presents Metamorpho and the unbelievable talent of Ramona Fradon, that's here too! Enjoy!

This episode of Scotch & Comics is trying something a little bit different. This episode isn't the result of a single evening's "hard work" but rather a handful of books spread out over a few days, then stitched back together. (It's fun to spend an entire evening sipping whisky and reading comic books, but sometimes it can be difficult to find five consecutive hours to set aside for that Herculean task.)

In this patchwork of an episode your intrepid host Devin R Bruce takes a tour of a wide variety of comic book stories, from Marvel and WildStorm's World War 3 crossover, Warren Ellis' rocketpunk adventure Ignition City, psychedelic espionage book Change, and Scott Morse's mind-expanding Strange Science Fantasy. Wrap yourself up in the warmth of this episode of Scotch & Comics. It's hypoallergenic and breathable, and made from 100% natural ingredients!

A little while ago I was talking with the ladies from the Boozy Boob Tube podcast, and I said that since I have a podcast where I drink and talk about comics and they have a podcast where they drink and talk about television, we should figure out some kind of awesome crossover. They agreed that it would be a good idea and a fun time, we just needed to come up with a show that I hadn't seen that was based on a comic book that they hadn't seen.

Gather around, podcast listeners, as I tell the tale of Episode 22 of the Scotch & Comics podcast, also known as...The Lost Episode! Abandoned shortly after it was recorded because of its strange aural qualities, it was thought that this episode would never see the light of day, but your intrepid host Devin R. Bruce was not going to let it go that easily. After searching the world for hints about the episode's location, he tracked it down in Marrakesh. After escaping an underground city of feral accountants and social workers, he dusted it off and has now sent it to you for safekeeping.

Thrill at the exploits of Bronze Age Superheroes in Adventure Comics #464! Gasp at the twists and turns of The Janus Directive! Shiver as your host revels in the finales of FF and Young Liars. Shudder at the strange audio happenings! All that and more in this very special episode of Scotch & Comics!

Today may be "his special day" but that doesn't mean that your intrepid host hasn't thought of you listeners! Yes, on this very special thirty-fifth birthday episode, host Devin R Bruce has crafted an audio grab bag that is bursting at the seams with comics goodness! Open up and find treats featuring comics from such luminary creators as (in alphabetical order): Brian Azzarello, Richard Corben, Garth Ennis, Jae Lee, Sean McKeever, Peter Milligan, Sean Phillips, Eric Powell, and John Severin. (And even more!) Though the journey may get a little dark at times, Scotch & Comics will shine a light at the end of that tunnel. BUT DON'T GO INTO THE LIGHT!!

It may have been six months since the last episode of Scotch & Comics but that doesn't mean that your host has gotten rusty. Or even gotten himself a Rusty Nail. (Ouch. I cut myself on that pun.) But in this special Robbie Burns Day episode, your host Devin R Bruce delivers an ode to comics. Specifically the comics Stormwatch, FF, Plastic Man, and Pretty Deadly. It's a guid a body!

(Note: there is some cursing in the musical interludes. If that is concerning to you.)

It's been a while again since the last episode but now Scotch & Comics is officially back from vacation! Your intrepid host was gone from the "studio" ("apartment") for the entire month of June; it was very fun and also EXTREMELY busy, and there was only one opportunity to record a podcast. And it was while onboard the Marine Atlantic Ferry from Newfoundland to Nova Scotia! And even MORE exciting, the lovely and talented Kim Stolz (who you may also recognize from The Listmakers Podcast) was on the boat as well! Devin drinks scotch, Kim drinks Coca Cola, and of course, there are also comic books! Lots of comics in a short space, as the two friends dole out their thoughts on Locke & Key, Hopeless Savages, Lot 13, Concrete, and The Human Bomb (the Nu52 version). You know what they say: if this boat is a rockin', it must be another episode of Scotch & Comics!

REFERENCES! It's a punny title for a not-very-punny episode as your host Devin R Bruce channels the spirit of one of his Podcast Saints and dives headlong into his Regina pile...and also into madness! Will your intrepid host manage to survive the onslaught of his towering pile of unread comics? With the help of his spirit guide, Just Bill, how can he fail? From Chew to Fantastic Four to Über to Constantine to yes, even The Amazing Spider-Man, not even nine months of unread comics can stop the Scotch & Comics show!

Pretend it hasn't been nearly three months. Pretend that your intrepid host Devin R Bruce has always been here, talking to you about the glory that is the comic book and the wonder that is the single malt Scotch whisky. And then pretend this is not entirely unexpected! Because boy howdy, was this a fun one to record. Put your feet up while he fix you a (virtual) drink. and then rants at you about Batman And The Monster Men by Matt Wagner, Revival by Tim Seely & Mike Norton, Thunderbolts Classic from Marvel, The Invisibles from Vertigo, and Pirate Eye: Mark of The Black Widow from Action Lab Comics! Acceptable superhero far, small town horror-noir, adventures in metafiction, and a pirate-gangster mashup you won't soon forget. Is it a vision brought on by finishing off Grant Morrison's breakfast smoothie? No, it's just another episode of Scotch & Comics!

What's this? Two episodes of Scotch & Comics in one month? Has the world turned upside down? No, it's just a special treat for your birthday. In this sixteenth episode of Scotch & Comics, your intrepid host Devin R Bruce braves the sub-zero temperatures of his patio to enjoy Richard Stark's Parker: The Score by Darwyn Cooke, in an effort to raise the profile of the upcoming Graphic Content screening. Fueled by a choice cigar and a flask of Ballantine's Finest, he attempts to use the feeble English language to describe the transcendant nature of this work of comics art. Scotch & Comics: an episode that's worth at least five hundred words.

In this fifteenth episode of Scotch & Comics, your friendly host Devin R Bruce was initially found a little lacking for inspiration. But when he's running low on inspiration, he does what so many other people do: he turned to the internet! Armed with a couple of suggestions from his Twitter companions, he sallies forth to discuss Wolfman & Perez's New Teen Titans, Edison Rex from Monkeybrain Comics, and Punisher MAX's Kitchen Irish. Plus, he plugs the upcoming screening of Point Blank as part of the Metro Cinema's Graphic Content series. (February 19! Scotch served in the theater! You should come!) In the midst of all this, he talks a little about what might be a good gateway whisky for a non-Scotch fan, as well as what Scotch would go best with Sailor Moon. Scotch & Comics: you don't always know where you're going, but you're glad you took the trip!

It's a COLD January in Edmonton but this episode of Scotch & Comics is going to warm. You. UP. We're drinking the world's second-greatest hot alcoholic drink and we're talking - what else? - comics! Join host Devin R Bruce as he reads Northlanders, Excalibur, Avengers Arena, and Killraven, and then lets you know ALL about the 999 Regina Challenge, how close he came to finishing, and whether or not he made it past the finish line. Hot toddys and cool comics: just another day's work on Scotch & Comics!

It's been over a year since the first episode of Scotch & Comics came out. It has something to do with the way time works on the internet. But despite these chronal inconsistencies, your intrepid host Devin R Bruce is back with another installment in the Internet's fifth-best alcohol-related solo-hosted comics podcast! In this episode, take a jaunt through some of the ignored books in the 999 Regina Challenge, including Power Pack by Louise Simonson, Nexus by Steve Rude & Mike Baron, Man-Thing by Steve Gerber and a slew of artists, and Samurai Executioner by Kazuko & Koike. A little mellow music, a little Islay single malt, and four great comics from a wide depth and breadth of genres, publishers, and countries (okay, well, only 2 countries). Scotch & Comics: the only place where there are 24 weeks a year!

SPOILER ALERT: In my excitement about the comic, spoil the entire first story in Samurai Executioner Volume 5. So if you care about that sort of thing, you have been warned.

That's right! The twelfth episode of Scotch & Comics is here, it's late, and it's just what you've come to expect - but not. Recorded on location on Devin R Bruce's secret retreat somewhere in the Canadian Rockies, on this episode your outdoorsy host reflects on Supergod by Warren Ellis and Garrie Gastonny, Love & Rockets by Gilbert Hernandez, Solomon Kane from Dark Horse Comics, and the first issue of the beloved Kamandi: The Last Boy On Earth! Are you lost? In search of a true direction? Then come along on the RetreatCast and find what YOU have been searching for!

In this very special episode of Scotch & Comics, your intrepid host embarks on what (hopefully) will be the first in a series of reoccurring yet randomly scheduled debates on comics and comics culture, with a Scotch & Comics twist: the Drunk Comics Debates! In this inaugural debate, Devin R Bruce pairs up with Comics! The Blog's very own DrunkyToasterson, Brandon Schatz, to debate the relative cultural and creative merits of Bryan Lee O'Malley's six-volume opus, Scott Pilgrim. Who's for? Who's against? Who smashes a bottle of beer on the floor? Who compares O'Malley to Stanley Kubrick? The answers to these and more questions may surprise you.

In this, the tenth episode of Scotch and Comics, many questions are raised. Such as: What do a 1970s British cop series, a beloved grandma, and Teacher's Highland Cream have in common? Which Hernandez brother draws the best smashed-up cars? What comic book can get your intrepid host absolutely (in his own words) JAZZED? And what gives him the right to lay down the law when it comes to the Justice Society? It's a trip through a wide selection of comics, from Mark Waid's first story on The Flash, to Remender & Opena's take on The Punisher, to Erik Larsen's Savage Dragon, to the indie classic Love & Rockets, and DC's new Earth 2 series. Five Scotch-fueled diatribes and five energetic musical breaks: ten reasons to listen to Scotch & Comics!

In this week's episode of Scotch & Comics, host Devin R Bruce covers his time at the Emerald City Comic Con in Seattle, drinks some duty-free Glenfiddich, and talks about the 999 Reading Challenge. (And no, it's got nothing to do with a Pokemon-loving former US Republican "contender.") Then, he talks about why the first issue of Stumptown is a perfect crime comic AND waxes rhapsodic on the subject of Chuck Taine of the Legion of Super-Heroes. Short but sweet this week, there's still plenty of Scotch & Comics to wet your whistles!

Welcome back! In this eighth episode of Scotch & Comics, your host Devin R Bruce climbs on board the peat train thanks to a liberal dosage of the Ardbeg 10 Year Old Single Malt. Fortified by heavy doses of scotch that you could smell across the hall, he then leads a motley group of comics into the fray: The Hood from Marvel Comics's Marvel MAX imprint, 2000AD's Rogue Trooper, the third volume in Jeff Lemire's Essex County trilogy from Top Shelf, and the first four issues of the post-Crisis Justice League title from DC Comics. From war to sci-fi, superhero adventures to small-town crises, Scotch & Comics serves up one hell of a strong cocktail!

It's the day after Anna Howard Shaw Day and what better way to get over your love hangover than with a dose of Scotch & Comics! After going on a little bit about Glenlivet, French oak trees, barreling, and the difference a few drops of water can make, we dive into a strange but satisfying combination of comic books. This episode features Neil Young's Greendale, 1988's Deadshot miniseries (spinning out of DC's groundbreaking Suicide Squad title), a horrifying thriller in Silverfish, and the secret history of The Lone Ranger. A little of everything this week: western adventure, creepy crime fiction, ecological fantasy, and supervillains. If you want variety and slightly tipsy comics reviews, you have come to the right place!

In the first episode of Scotch & Comics to be released in 2012 (yet recorded in 2011), your intrepid host Devin R Bruce impales himself on a Rusty Nail and talks a little bit about his penchant for glassware. Then, it's off to the races as we discuss a wide range of comic books: the Elseworlds tale Batgirl and Robin: Thrillkiller, Silver Age stories from Turok: Son of Stone, and two series that were cancelled before their time: the second half of Welcome To Tranquility and the first volume of Thor: The Mighty Avenger. Alternate histories, dinosaurs, demons, and ancient gods: it's just a typical episode of Scotch & Comics!

NOTE: There are slight spoilers for Thrillkiller in this episode, nothing completely outrageous but a few examples of how things are different in this version of the DC Universe. I don't think it really ruins anything but you have been warned.

The fifth episode of Scotch & Comics is a Very Special Epsiode, and by that I don't mean one where we all learn an important lesson about bullying or lying to your parents. I mean one where you get to hear a conversation with a comics professional! On his episode I talk to writer and artist Kody Chamberlain, from Image Comics' Sweets and the upcoming re-launch of Punks from MTV Comics. We talk about Sweets in particular (and my hazy confusion about the plot), his craft in general, his opinion on digital comics, and then a brief discussion about what he's currently interested in in the rest of pop culture. And if that wasn't enough - and believe me, it should be - I finish it off with a trio of comics reviews that span genres, companies, and decades. Your regular semi-soused comics reviews, an interview with a very talented creator, and a charming story about waterfowl: you can't ask for much more than that!

WARNING: I mention this in the intro to the podcast, but Kody Chamberlain and I do talk about the plot points and reveals in his comic, Sweets. Spoilers abound, but the rest of the reviews start at about the 40 minute mark.

It's been two long weeks but Scotch & Comics returns, with host Devin R Bruce serving up another round of slightly tipsy comics conversation. With the help of his friends on Twitter, he goes through a random selection of comics from his long boxes as well as one book from his shelf. It's a big glass of superhero comics with a zombie twist and a sprinkling of pixie dust! Featuring conversations about X-Men First Class (the comic, not the movie), Giffen & Levitz's Legion of Super-Heroes, Fables, Welcome to Tranquility, and the zombie comic Things Undone. Scotch and Comics: stumbling through the long boxes to find nuggets of solid gold!

Happy Hallowe'en everyone! In this horror-themed episode of Scotch and Comics, host Devin R Bruce talks about a real Monster of a whisky and then dives into a trove of dystopian sci-fi, monsters, vampires, and other creepy tales! Featuring looks at Smoke by Alex DiCampi and Igor Kordey; The Complete Dracula by Leah Moore, John Reppion, and Colton Worley; a smattering of Marvel Monsters; Brian Azzarello & Eduardo Risso's Spaceman; and a selection from the venerable Creepy Archives, Volume One! Plus side discussions on Canadian ballet films, Kickstarter campaigns, and more. Scotch and Comics: more fun than you can shake a severed limb at!

In this second episode of Scotch and Comics, host Devin R Bruce takes a little bit of time to talk about one of his new favourite Scotch varieties, then dives headfirst into the newly-relaunched (don't call it a reboot!) line of DC Comics titles. After going through The Good, The Bad, and The Questionable, he then cleanses the palate with some decidedly darker non-superhero fare featuring Joe Casey & Steve Parkhouse's The Milkman Murders, Rafael Grampa's Mesmo Delivery, and Cody Chamberlain's Sweets.

NOTE: The DC Universe talk features a spoiler for Nightwing #1 at about the 27 minute mark, so if you want to keep your reading experience relatively pure the rest of the reviews start at about 32:20.

In this first episode of Scotch and Comics, host Devin R Bruce explains the premise of the show, then wades through a mostly-random selection of comics including Locke & Key, Batgirl, Vice, Jew Gangster, Martian Manhunter, and Incorruptible. Fortified by a healthy dose of Scotch whisky, he shares his thoughts and insights with anyone who cares to listen. Scotch and Comics: two of the greatest things ever invented, now in podcast form!